Connect the Dots
by divarivas
Summary: A drunken Monica spills the one secret that could alter her friendship with Chandler forever.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first Mondler fanfiction, so I really hope you enjoy it! I would appreciate it if you would leave feedback to let me know if you want me to continue this story. Now I have a feeling you didn't come here to listen to me talk, so let's get to it!**

CHAPTER 1

"You tried your best, honey. We don't blame you for the mediocre meal," Judy Geller unsuccessfully attempted to console her daughter, oblivious to the opposite impact the words may have on her daughter.

Monica frowned at her mother's predictable angle on the situation. She desperately needed to escape her judgmental parents and their snobby guests. Rachel had left an hour ago, but Monica was forced to stay because of her parents.

"It's okay. I'm sure there's a McDonald's drive through calling out my name," Monica half-heartedly joked before standing up and grabbing her purse. She nodded at her mother to say goodbye and headed back to her apartment.

Monica returned to an empty apartment with a message from Ross on the phone. _"Mon, it's Rachel. I just wanted to let you know that I'm spending the night at Ross's. See you tomorrow!"_

She contemplated walking across the hall to Chandler and Joey's or driving to Phoebe's, but eventually figured that a few glasses of wine would do the trick. Maybe more than a few.

* * *

TWO HOURS EARLIER

 _Monica scurried around the kitchen in her parents' house stirring ingredients, checking the oven, and basically just assuring that everything was in its place. She was a nervous wreck, to say the least. Her parents had offered her a catering job for a dinner party they were hosting._

" _Mon, it's going to be fine. You're an amazing chef and everyone is going to love your food," Rachel tried to calm her down. She had brought along Rachel to waitress, but mainly for moral support._

 _The truth was that she would've rather had Chandler there, but Rachel had the excuse of waitressing, and she couldn't imagine Chandler as a waiter. If Monica was being completely honest with herself, she'd had a crush on him for a long time, as in ever since she first met him while she was in high school. That hadn't gone too well, but they were good friends now and she wasn't going to jeopardize that._

" _Monica dear, how long will the lasagna take to cook?" Judy walked in to check on her daughter. She had been skeptical about hiring Monica, but the catering companies she was familiar with cost a fortune, so she settled with Monica._

 _Immediately Monica's eyes widened and heart began to race. "Lasagna? No one told me I was supposed to make lasagna. I was supposed to make lasagna? Mom, answer me!" she rambled frantically._

" _Sweetie, it was in the message I left you. Don't worry, I have backup," Judy said as she walked to the freezer and pulled out two large frozen lasagnas. Great, her own mother had prepared for her failure._

* * *

Chandler and Joey relaxed in their Barcaloungers and watched an awful movie Joey had landed a small role in. It was about a centaur family who gave birth to a human. It followed the human as it grew up and eventually fell in love with a centaur. Joey played a centaur called Laurence. Needless to say Chandler was shocked that the movie had made it to theaters.

After the human and the centaur shared their first kiss, Chandler decided he needed a break.

"Joey, want a beer?" he asked, rolling out of the chair. Joey didn't answer. He appeared to be very engaged in the movie. Chandler rolled his eyes and walked to the fridge.

All of the sudden, the door opened and Monica barged in, stumbling around. Chandler held her arms for a moment to steady her. Joey paused the movie and turned around to face them.

"Can I use your bathroom? Mine disappeared," Monica slurred out, visibly drunk.

"Mon, are you drunk?" Chandler asked, sounding a little concerned. Monica didn't get drunk very often, but when she did, it was because she was very upset about something.

"Nope. I only had one actual _glass_ ," she responded.

"How many times did you refill it?" Chandler questioned.

"Seven, eight, I don't remember. Doesn't matter," Monica answered, and Chandler sighed. Usually he would just make an inappropriately timed joke to clear the air, but this was different. This was Monica.

"I have to sit down," Monica suddenly declared, looking sick. Chandler led her to his Barcalounger and she immediately plopped down.

"So, are you gonna tell us what happened or not?" Joey asked curiously.

"I didn't hear her say lasagna!" Monica answered, confusing Chandler and Joey. They gave her a look and she elaborated.

"You know how my parents wanted me to cater their dinner party? Well, apparently I was supposed to make lasagna, but of course I stupidly didn't listen to the message again. But don't you worry, there's a happy ending. My mom knew I'd screw up so she had frozen lasagnas waiting in the freezer," she explained.

That explained why she was drinking. Her parents had always been hard on her, always favoring Ross. Chandler easily related to parental issues. He wasn't even sure whether he was supposed to call his father 'mom' or 'dad.'

"Hey, let's look on the bright side," Joey suggested, clearly before he knew what the 'bright side' actually was. Monica swung her head around to face him. She was clearly wasted. Chandler wasn't sure he'd ever seen her quite sodrunk.

"This can't possibly happen twice because they won't ask you to cater ever again!" Joey exclaimed, proud of himself for coming up with an explanation.

By the look on Monica's face, she obviously did not see that as the bright side. Even so, neither Joey nor Chandler was expecting what she said next.

"You see, this is why I'm in love with Chandler and not you." Apparently, Monica hadn't fully realized what she'd admitted, because she began rambling more about her parents and cooking, but Chandler and Joey sure had.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Joey practically yelled. "Hold up. You're in love with…with _him_?" The way Joey said this might have offended Chandler if he wasn't already in shock.

Monica didn't answer. She appeared to have fallen asleep on the Barcalounger.

"Dude!" Joey whisper-yelled, trying not to wake Monica. Chandler was speechless. How was he supposed to handle this? Of course he loved Monica, but only as a friend. If he'd known about her feelings he would've…well, he didn't know what he would have done.

"Maybe she just said it because she was drunk?" Chandler offered, but he knew it was a long shot.

"Come on, Monica's hot. Why are you making excuses? I certainly wouldn't mind if she was in love with me," Joey told Chandler.

Chandler glared at his dim friend. "Because we're friends! Why does she have to go and ruin everything?" It seemed he was about to have one of his infamous freak-outs.

"Maybe you should cut the girl some slack. Not her fault she's in love with you," Joey attempted to rationalize with his friend, although he wasn't sure how.

Chandler sighed. He knew he couldn't blame her. To be honest, he wasn't sure what Monica saw in him.

"Should we take Monica back to her apartment?" Chandler asked, anxious to drop the subject.

Joey stared at his friend for a few moments before shaking his head. "Let's just let her sleep here. I mean, unless you want to carry her."

Chandler nodded and walked into his bedroom without another word, shutting the door behind him. Joey watched his friend in disbelief before heading to his own room.

Monica awoke with a thrashing headache and little recollection of what had taken place the night before. After her vision returned to normal, she realized she was not in her own apartment.

* * *

"Morning, sunshine," Joey greeted her from the kitchen. Monica slowly stood up and sat down on the stool at the counter, rubbing her eyes.

"So, uh, what exactly happened last night?" asked Monica, embarrassed.

Joey grinned. "Wait, you don't remember?" he clarified, and she shook her head. "Chandler, she doesn't remember anything!" Joey screamed excitedly, almost causing Monica to fall off the stool in surprise.

The door to Chandler's room opened and he walked out. His eyes were droopy and face was white. Either he was sick or he had been up all night.

Chandler widened his eyes. "You really don't remember last night?"

"No," Monica answered suspiciously. "What's the big deal? What did I do?"

"No, I mean, uh, nothing," Chandler sputtered out, mentally slapping himself before regaining his composure. "I mean, you just came over here and talked about cooking."

Monica eyed them both, but she was too hung over to push any further. "I think I'm going to head back to my apartment and clean myself up."

Once she had left, Chandler spoke up. "We can't tell her."

"No, Chandler, please," Joey whined. "I hate secrets."

"No, it'll ruin our friendship. It could even ruin the friendship of all six of us. Do you really want that?" Chandler argued.

"I guess not," Joey said, pouting.

"Then let's just keep this between us, okay?"

"Fine," Joey agreed reluctantly. "But for the record, I think this is really stupid."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey, so sorry it took me so long to update. I volunteer over the summer, and it takes up most of my time. Anyways, I completely forgot to mention in the first chapter that this fic takes place in the middle of season 3, but some of the past events will be changed slightly to fit in with the story. Also, I'd like to apologize because this is some of this chapter is just a filler, but I tried to make sure it was enjoyable.**

CHAPTER 2

Monica felt very uncomfortable with the fact that she had no idea what had happened the night before. It seemed Joey and Chandler were keeping something from her. She decided she would confront them after she freshened up.

"Monica! Hey, I just had the _best_ night at Ross's," Rachel exclaimed as she ran through the door.

Monica zoned out while Rachel explained how romantic her brother had been. She had grown used to the idea of her best friend and her brother together, but she couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable from time to time. Monica couldn't begin to imagine how Ross would react if he found out about her feelings for Chandler.

"Rach," Monica interrupted. "While I'd love to hear more about your relationship with my brother, I really have to talk to Chandler and Joey," Monica said before excusing herself and leaving the apartment.

"Hey Monica," Joey greeted her with a tall blonde by his side. Monica was curious as to how he had invited a girl over in the twenty minutes she'd been gone.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Monica asked before glancing at the blonde. "In private." Joey told the woman he would meet her in his room in a few minutes and let Monica inside.

"What really happened last night?" she immediately questioned once the woman was out of visible range.

"What do you mean?" Joey asked nervously. He was terrible at keeping secrets, but he was positive Chandler would kill him if he told her what she'd confessed.

"You seemed really happy when I told you I couldn't remember last night," Monica explained. "Tell me what happened!"

"You, uh y-you," Joey began to stutter. "You made out with a girl." Joey widened his eyes, realizing what he'd just blurted out. Chandler was going to freak.

"I did _what_?"

"Yeah, um, I had a girl over, um, Ally, and you started talking to her and the next thing I know you two are swapping spit!" Joey hurriedly explained. Monica looked skeptical, but she seemed to have bought it for now.

"Oh my god," she said.

"Yeah, now I have a girl waiting in my room for me, so unless you want to join us…" Joey tried to drive her away so he wouldn't make any more mistakes.

Monica took the hint and left the apartment in confusion and disbelief.

"You told her _what_?" Chandler's reaction was very similar to Monica's once Joey admitted what he'd said. He hoped his friend wouldn't give him a lecture, because he _still_ had a girl waiting for him, and Amy or Anya or whatever probably didn't like to be kept waiting.

"Why was that the first idea that you thought of?" Chandler did not seem amused by the situation whatsoever.

"I'm _always_ thinking about that!" Joey unsuccessfully defended himself. "Besides, it was your decision to keep this a secret, so this is all on you."

Chandler seemed to contemplate Joey's reasoning before responding. "This isn't just because of how I'd feel. Monica would be heartbroken if she found out we knew. Think about how awful this would be for her."

Joey sighed and nodded his head in agreement before heading back to his room so he could finally have some alone time with Ally or Amanda.

Chandler had a mission to avoid Monica as best he could. Of course, he knew this would be nearly impossible because they have the same friends and live across the hall from one another, but he had to give it a go. He couldn't come up with a better way to handle the situation.

Suddenly, Ross barged into the room, interrupting Chandler's thoughts. "I think Rachel's cheating on me!" he exclaimed. Chandler attempted to listen to Ross's ranting about some guy named Mark, but he honestly couldn't care less at the moment.

Of course, Ross was oblivious. The five friends barely paid attention to what Ross had to say, so it probably seemed normal.

Chandler was desperate for a fix to the Monica-problem. It would be nearly impossible to go back to the way things were, but she didn't even have a clue things weren't how they were.

"What should I do? Do I confront her?" Ross wondered aloud to his friend. Chandler snapped out of his thoughts and stared at his friend for a minute.

"Sure," Chandler responded, indifferent to the situation. Ross and Rachel would make it work. Somehow they always ended up together.

"I just- I can't believe she'd do this to me!" Ross yelled. "Wish me luck." Chandler knew this couldn't go well, considering Ross was so worked up.

When Ross opened the door to leave, Monica was on the other side about to knock. Chandler contemplating locking himself in the bathroom or claiming he had to be at work, but he resisted.

"Hey, Chandler," Monica greeted him.

"Hey, so I heard that Joey told you what happened last night. Amanda probably didn't see that coming when she went home with Joey," Chandler joked lamely.

"Amanda? Joey told me her name was Ally."

"Yeah, her name's Amanda, but she, uh, goes by Ally," was the first thing that came to Chandler's mind as an excuse.

Monica furrowed her eyebrows, and opened her mouth to question it, but Chandler spoke up before she could.

"Well, I gotta go to work."

"But you don't work on Saturdays," Monica argued, but Chandler was already halfway out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Please let me know if you think there is too much dialogue. Also, each character will have a different knowledge of what has happened, so I'm going to catch you up just in case, even though nothing has been too complicated up until this point. So far, this is was each character knows. Chandler knows Monica is in love with him. Joey knows Monica is in love with Chandler. Monica has no idea she confessed and thinks she made out with a girl Joey brought home. I really appreciate any feedback you have - good or bad. I'm a little iffy about whether or not I'm going to continue this fic, but you could definitely change my mind!**

 **I keep forgetting to do this, so:**

 _ **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FRIENDS OR ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS (no matter how much I wish I do)**_

* * *

"So you told him you wanted to take a break?" Monica was skeptical of Rachel's decision. However, she understood where she was coming from. Ross could be a bit too much to handle at times.

"Mon, I really don't want to explain it for the seventh time," Rachel sighed irritably. "Can't we just talk about something else?"

"Yeah, sure. Have you talked to Joey or Chandler?" Monica asked hesitantly. For some reason, she didn't really want Rachel to know about what happened.

"No, I don't want to talk about what happened," Rachel repeated, misinterpreting the question. "But you know, maybe Ross confided in them. Joey can't keep secrets, so he'd definitely tell me!" She jumped off the couch and nearly sprinted out the door before Monica could protest.

* * *

"Rach, what's up?" Chandler asked after he heard the door open and slam shut.

"Come on, don't act like nothing's going on," Rachel said. Chandler widened his eyes. While he hated Joey's excuse, he had assumed that Monica wouldn't blab about it because it wasn't something she would usually be proud of.

"You heard about it?" Chandler asked her just to make sure.

"Of course I heard about it! I was there!" she practically yelled. What kind of crap had Joey made up? Had he told her the real story? Maybe Monica's eavesdropping and Joey staged this to prove the story. But Joey wasn't smart enough to do that. It was probably Rachel's idea, Chandler finally decided, so he went along with it.

"Oh, yeah of course, sorry," Chandler stuttered, winking. Rachel gave him a confused look, but continued.

"So, I just want to hear the other side of the story, the _real_ story. I don't want to get any false hope about the relationship, but maybe we could work it out," she explained. We?

"She was drunk. She told me she was in love with me. That's all there is to it," Chandler said slowly, silently cursing Joey for confessing to Rachel.

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Chandler stared at her. "What the hell were _you_ talking about?"

"Ross and me!" Rachel yelled. Chandler widened his eyes. She had been referring to a fight with Ross. He vaguely remembered Ross telling him he was going to confront her.

"I know he probably told you guys not to tell me but…wait, who's in love you?" Rachel appeared to have forgotten about her situation with Ross, as it the topic had shifted to possibly juicy gossip.

"Janice! It was Janice! Janice Janice Janice Janice," Chandler repeated her name several times.

"Really? Please don't get back together with her," she begged, but she seemed pleased that she was in on the secret. Little did she know it was a big fat lie.

"Ross really didn't mention a thing?" Rachel wondered, changing the subject. It immediately dawned on Chandler that he might be slightly responsible for their falling out. He couldn't completely recall the advice he'd given Chandler, so it couldn't have been very good. He was worried it would be on him if this had ruined their entire relationship.

"No, I didn't even know you two had a fight. Joey went to a party the copy girl invited us to, and I think Ross met up with him later?" he told her, hoping she would fill him in on what had happened. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No! We're on a break, okay? That's all I'm going to say. Monica already tried to pry all of my feelings out of me! It's just- it's just too much!" Rachel was now hysterical.

"I'm sure Monica was just trying to help," Chandler instantly reacted when Monica's name came out of Rachel's mouth. He wasn't totally positive why his first instinct was to defend her.

"That's not the point! The point is that I don't want to talk about it!"

"Don't get me wrong, I understand what you mean, but, uh, didn't you barge into my apartment to talk about it?" Chandler quipped.

Rachel glared at him for a moment, then huffed and left the room, slamming the door behind her. Chandler watched her leave, trying to process their conversation.

* * *

 **Do you guys like the drama/secrets/jealousy or the sappy romance aspect of a fanfiction? Or maybe a combination of both?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yes, I realize that I always take a long time to update, but really, all I can do is apologize for it. I don't have much time to write. Anyways, a few of you pointed out that my chapters are pretty short, so I tried to make this one longer. Hope you guys like it! And any feedback is appreciated! Short recap of what each character knows:** **Chandler knows Mon** **ica is in love with him. Joey knows Monica is in love with Chandler. Monica has no idea she confessed and thinks she made out with a girl Joey brought home. Rachel thinks Janice is still in love with Chandler.**

 _ **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Friends or any of these characters.**_

* * *

CHAPTER 4

Monica vigorously dusted the vacuum she'd just finished using. Rachel had just informed her that Janice had confessed her love for Chandler, and Monica was curious how he was reacting. She couldn't help but wonder how he would react if she'd drunkenly confessed her love for Chandler. It would've been more than slightly awkward. Monica was glad he would never find out, but deep down she hoped one day maybe he'd admit that he had been in love with her all along.

She quickly pushed away these hopeful thoughts aside because she knew she was simply setting herself up for disappointment. Monica contemplated checking up on Chandler, but decided against it because he probably wouldn't be up to talking about it.

Monica was feeling skeptical of Joey's story, but she figured maybe he was just sugar coating for Monica's sake. However, if she really did make out with another girl, Joey would definitely be excited to rehash the details. Something just wasn't adding up here, and Monica was now determined to discover exactly what that was, even if there were only a few minor facts that Joey hadn't disclosed.

* * *

"How long do you think they'll be? It's been half an hour since I ate my third lunch, and I'm not sure how much longer I can take it!" Joey complained. Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe were secretly trapped in the bedroom while Rachel and Ross had a very long argument. Only minutes before, Phoebe and Monica learned that Ross had slept with Chloe the copy girl at the party he and Joey attended.

"The girls' waxing strips are still on the table, Joe," Chandler offered, and Joey didn't reply. Monica gave a small laugh and adjusted her position on the bed. It definitely wasn't meant for four people, but she certainly didn't mind lying this close to Chandler, even if it wasn't under the circumstances she'd dreamed of.

"Do girls share waxing strips? Sounds like it'd be hot," Joey questioned, probably trying to get the shake the images of food out of his mind with a different thought.

"No. You only use them once," Monica answered, confused.

"In your entire life? So your legs just stay hairless forever?" he seemed fascinated with the idea.

Monica smile when she noticed Chandler roll his eyes and shake his head. "No, Joey. You wax your legs with one strip and then throw it away," she explained.

"So you toss it out because it's completely covered in, like, fur," Joey concluded, unaware of the absurdity of the conversation.

"How hairy do you think I am?" Monica retorted, causing Chandler to laugh. She grinned, pleased with herself. She attempted to subtly scoot closer to Chandler, but he moved away the moment he noticed. This was odd, because he would often put her arm around her or they'd share the same chair with no problem. Monica frowned as she noticed something. Chandler hadn't been talking to her as much lately. In fact, now that she thought about it, he seemed to be avoiding her.

When Phoebe began to say something, Monica forced these thoughts away and told herself she was imagining it.

"We should play a game!" Phoebe suggested.

"Two of our best friends are fighting their heads off less than twenty feet away and you want to play a game?" Chandler asked, his voice full of judgement. His expression changed a moment later and he added, "Sounds like a good idea!"

"Ooh, I like games! What are we gonna play?" Joey asked excitedly.

"Okay, my friend Alex and I used to play this game while we waited for the market to close so we could steal food." The three others gave her a look before she continued.

"So, here's how it goes: one person says a random word, then the next person has to say the first word that pops into their right away. You keep going until it takes too long for someone to say a word or they repeat a word," Phoebe explained.

"I'll go first!" Monica exclaimed excitedly, completely forgetting about her feelings for the moment. Some might say Monica was a tad competitive.

"Soap," Monica began.

"Water," Chandler added.

"Clean," Joey continued.

"Monica," Phoebe said.

"That doesn't count!" Monica argued. "It can't be a name!"

"Ah! You lose!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"No I don't. You never said it could be a name, so you lose!"

"All I said was it had to be a word, and 'Monica' is a word."

Monica was getting angry she hated being wrong almost as much as she hated losing. "Come on, you guys agree with me right?" she asked, looking at Joey and Chandler expectantly.

"Um, I kind of think Phoebe's right," Chandler said awkwardly. He truthfully wasn't completely sure where he was going with that. He just had a strange hope that if he told Monica she was wrong, her feelings would magically disappear. But at the same time, he really didn't want to break her heart, and he had an odd feeling that made his stomach hurt little that maybe he didn't want her feelings to disappear. This situation was so unfamiliar to Chandler. He usually didn't have to deal with girls pining after him.

Monica glared at Chandler, showing no signs of sadness, only anger. Joey said nothing.

"You know what? It doesn't matter if you guys think I lost because I know I didn't and that's all that matters," Monica stated confidently.

"Okay, good. Want to play again?" Phoebe asked the group.

"But I did win!" Monica clearly couldn't hold back her competitive side, and Chandler couldn't help but laugh at that. Competitive Monica was a bitch, but he still loved it for some reason. She gave him another death stare after his laugh, and he shut his mouth.

"Right. Okay, Mon. You won," Phoebe agreed, her voice slightly sarcastic.

Chandler watched the emotions change on Monica's face. It humored him how conflicted she looked, probably about whether or not she should press any further.

"You know, why don't we play one more time, just to prove that I can win this game," Monica suggested in an uncomfortably calm voice.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Phoebe decided, and Joey and Chandler nodded their heads in agreement.

* * *

"Do you think it's safe to go out there?" Chandler asked.

"I dunno. I haven't heard any screaming in a while," Joey responded.

The three cautiously opened the door and tiptoed into the living room. There was no sign of Ross, only Rachel, who appeared to be asleep on the couch.

"Alright, well I better get going," Phoebe stated before saying goodbye and walking out the door.

"Yeah, us too," Chandler agreed, and he began to walk out the door, followed by Joey.

"Wait, Joey, can I talk to you for a second?" Monica asked quickly as Joey was almost out the door. "Yeah sure, Mon," Joey agreed with a hopeful grin on his face that made Monica roll her eyes.

Monica had no idea how to begin this conversation. "What's going on?" she finally questioned.

Joey furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"I-I don't know exactly. It's just ever since that night things have felt...off," she tried to explain. "And by 'things' I mean mostly just Chandler."

"Chandler's just, um, he's just..." Joey said. He seemed to be searching desperately for the right words. "Chandler's homophobic!"

Monica shook her head, not buying one word. "No he isn't!"

"Yes he is! It makes perfect sense, right? He saw you making out with a girl and now he's freaked out because he's homophobic!" Joey explained. "Wow I'm good," he said under his breath.

But he clearly wasn't as good as he thought he was, because Monica was anything but convinced. "Joey, cut it out! Chandler's not homophobic and you know it! Tell me what you're covering up!" She was exasperated by now.

"Fine! But you're really gonna wish you hadn't asked."

Monica stared at him expectantly.

Reluctantly, Joey confessed. "There was no girl. I mean, there was, but much later that night, and I was the only one who hooked up with her. When you came over, you started rambling and you...you said you were in love with Chandler."

Monica's eyes widened at his last words.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: It gets a little angsty this chapter, and maybe for the next few - we'll see. I apologize for that, and it was very painful to write. If you can't remember, Joey just confessed to Monica that she had admitted she was in love with Chandler when she was drunk. I appreciate any feedback - positive or negative.**

 _ **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Friends or any of these characters.**_

* * *

CHAPTER 5

Monica gaped at him before denying everything. "That's crazy! I was just drunk and blurted it out! How do you even know I said Chandler? I could have said...chancellor?"

Joey just stared at her. The pity in his eyes told her that even Joey wasn't going to buy whatever story she could concoct. Out of all the stupid things she could have possibly said, why did she have to tell the one secret that would alter her friendship with Chandler forever? "I don't know what a chancellor is, but I'm two hundred percent positive you said Chandler. Also, he's gonna kill me for telling you, so maybe you could just tell him you suddenly remembered?" Joey asked.

Monica glared at him, and Joey gave a reluctant nod. "So, uh, are you going to talk to him about it?" He clearly wasn't good with this type of predicament.

Truthfully, Monica had absolutely no idea how she was going to go about telling Chandler she knew, but she was sure she had to. No matter how she decided to tell him, a freak out was inevitable. Hopefully he'd try to be serious about it, because telling jokes and using sarcasm probably wouldn't break the ice here. "Yeah, I guess so," Monica finally answered.

"He's in his room I think, so you could go over now. I'll stay here and...totally not eat any of your food?" Joey offered. Monica agreed and headed over to Chandler and Joey's.

She waited several moments before gathering the courage to knock on the door of his room. Usually she would just walk right in without worrying, but today was definitely different. At last, she gave a few quick knocks and held her breath.

"Joe, you better not ask me to watch you movie again. I've already seen it four times. It's amazing, wonderful, lovely. Now go away!" Chandler called out in a cranky tone from his room.

"It's Monica, actually. But if you're in a bad mood I can come back later," she suggested.

He was silent for too long in Monica's opinion. "No, I guess I'm just in a bad mood because of Ross and Rachel's fight. You can come in." Monica slowly opened the door and sat on his bed at a safe distance away from him with her hands placed neatly on her lap. She was nervous, to say the least. Chandler waited expectantly for her to start speaking.

"So, Joey told me. I mean, Joey told me what I-what I said to you guys when I was, well um, under the influence?" Monica sputtered out, her heart racing. Chandler immediately looked down and started twiddling his thumbs. She had no clue how to continue.

"I'm sorry," Monica said quietly, as it was the only thing she could think of to say considering Chandler didn't look as though he would speak any time soon. "Say something," she ordered unintentionally forcefully. Monica was probably a little too used to bossing them around.

"You're great, Mon, I mean it," he started, but Monica cut him off.

"No, stop. I don't want to hear it. Obviously, if you had any feelings for me at all you wouldn't have kept this a secret from me, which I think is completely disrespectful, by the way. Disrespectful that you didn't tell me, I mean, not that you don't have feelings for me," she said shakily.

"Why do you even...feel that way about me? I'm awkward, I tell horrible jokes, and I have never ever had a successful relationship," he asked. She couldn't determine whether he was trying to give her reasons not to love him, trying to break the ice, or he was simply curious.

"I don't really know," Monica answered him honestly.

"So, what are we gonna do? Just forget about it? I can try to if you will," he suggested. Monica's sad expression instantly changed to one of anger.

"I can't just forget about it!" she was getting worked up. She didn't even know why, but she was angry. Maybe it was just all of her emotions getting confused. "It doesn't work that way! Maybe we could move past it or something if we tried, but if you just want to forget about it, that's fine by me, but I won't," Monica was aware of her heated rambling, but it was just gushing out of her and she couldn't help it. "You know, you're probably not even that hard to get over anyways," she yelled. She knew none of this wasn't Chandler's fault, but deep down she was mad at him for not feeling the way. Or not so deep down.

Chandler looked dumbstruck. He was obviously confused, but Monica couldn't just turn back and apologize, so she stood up and walked out without saying another word, slamming the door behind her. At that moment, she couldn't care less how childish she was acting. Her heart was broken; she deserved a little lenience.

Monica slumped back to her apartment and cried in her room for a few hours before drifting off to sleep. Hopefully, everything would be sunnier in the morning.

* * *

Chandler was unsure of what had just happened, but he did know he felt distressed and guilty. At least he hadn't made any of the sarcastic comments that had been itching to come out. His stomach hurt a little too; it was a little queasy and fluttery, but he figured he was just hungry after all of the hours he spent stuck in the bedroom, so he went to the kitchen and grabbed a sandwich out of the fridge. "Hey, Chandler. How'd it go with Monica?" Joey asked optimistically.

"Did you tell her?" Chandler asked, ignoring Joey's question. "Did you tell Monica?"

Chandler seemed so tense and upset that Joey was a little worried for his friend. He just wasn't himself. "Yeah, I'm really, sorry. But, hey, she was bound to find out sometime."

"Maybe not! You just ruined my friendship with Monica!" Chandler exclaimed, desperately wishing to pin the blame on the closest bystander.

"Well you're eating my sandwich! So can't we just call it even?" Joey asked.

Chandler shook his head and sighed, attempting to calm himself down. "I'm gonna go out."

As Joey watched his friend leave, he took a bite of his sandwich that Chandler had set down on the counter before heading out. He tried to come up with a plan to reunite his friends between bites. It would be much easier if he didn't have to worry about Ross and Rachel, too. Today had not been a good day for the six of them. In fact, Joey couldn't think of a time when there was a wider rift between the six of them. Well, except for Phoebe. Phoebe managed to steer clear of the drama. Why couldn't the rest of them be like Phoebe? Anyways, Joey was now determined to do everything he could to reunite his friends.

* * *

 **Was it too angsty and dramatic? There really wasn't as much humor as I'd like in this chapter, so I can aim for more of that and less drama in the next chapter if you'd like.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Yes, I know it's been forever since I've updated. I'm sorry! Hope you haven't forgotten about this fic. Anyways, I'm super excited for this chapter, and reviews are greatly appreciated - good or bad! Again, sorry for not updating!**

 _ **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Friends or any of these characters.**_

 **HAPPY THANKSGIVING**

* * *

CHAPTER 6

Joey's determination had instantly started to fade. He'd just talked to Monica, hoping she would help him go find Chandler. However, she hadn't seemed too up to talking _about_ Chandler, let alone _to_ him. Maybe he should just wait it out. Besides, issues always work themselves out eventually in the group. Joey finally decided he would speed the fix of the Rachel/Ross problem instead

* * *

Chandler was too upset. He knew he could have handled his conversation with Monica better. In fact, he was almost expecting her to snap when he began the cliched rejection, telling her how amazing she was before breaking her heart. For some reason, he wanted her to be angry with him, like it would be easier somehow. Chandler felt that he deserved to be hated. He just couldn't put a finger on the reason he thought this way. Truth be told, he still believed he had been doing her a favor by keeping her in the dark, so what was bothering him?

Chandler shook those thoughts out of his head and stopped at a nearby bar, the only place that appeared to have lights on. As he walked inside, he knew he probably shouldn't be there.

"Scotch on the rocks with a twist," he ordered unconsciously, immediately wondering why he chose that drink. It was Monica's favorite, not Chandler's.

All of the sudden a woman sat next to him. He glanced at her for a moment. She was attractive, with short brown hair and blue eyes.

"I'll pay for his," she offered, throwing Chandler a seductive smile. Chandler knew he wasn't in his right mind when he leaned in and kissed her out of nowhere. As expected, she kissed him back passionately. It felt good, and he realized why as soon as they both slowly pulled away. The epiphany terrified him beyond words. She looked exactly like someone he knew. Monica.

"S-sorry, I don't think I can do this," he sputtered out.

"But you kissed me," the woman argued, confused. But it really didn't matter what she said, because Chandler was already on his way out. He had to talk to Monica right away.

However, as soon as he arrived back at his apartment, Joey told him he'd heard Monica leave about a half hour ago.

"Did you ask her where she was going?" Chandler asked desperately.

Joey shook his head. "No. I mean, I tried talking to her a while ago, and wasn't in the mood to talk, so I didn't want to annoy her. Okay, I just didn't want her to yell at me. Why do you want to see her so badly? A few hours ago you would have done anything to avoid her."

"I think I might, you know..." Chandler couldn't get the words out.

"Might be going crazy? No, I don't know," Joey said impatiently.

"No, I think I might...Are you really going to make me say it?" No matter how life-changing his realization may have been, he kind of liked being commitment-phobe, and the minute he said this, it would change everything, and he wasn't sure if he wanted that. But he also had no choice in the matter now.

"Yes," Joey replied irritably.

"I love her, Joe," he admitted softly.

Joey widened his eyes. "Dude!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"No, it's not 'dude!'" Chandler mocked Joey. "It's 'dude,'" he said in a quieter and depressing voice this time. "We had a fight."

"Yeah, but now you can tell her you love her, and you two will live happily ever after!"

"Considering we don't even know where she is, that's probably not going to happen." Honestly, Chandler had no idea where Monica might be, which annoyed him a little bit.

"Just go ask Rachel," Joey advised, grinning.

Chandler sighed and figured it'd be best to tell her as soon as possible in case he chickened out.

Joey smiled to himself as Chandler left. "Wow, I really am a miracle worker. I was working on Rachel and Ross, but I fixed Monica and Chandler without even trying! They're so lucky to have me."

He quickly walked across the hall and found Rachel sitting on the couch watching TV. Chandler didn't know how to approach her. Hopefully she wouldn't be suspicious.

He tried his best to sound casual. "Hey Rach, do you know where Monica might happen to be at this moment? Like, casually?" He instantly knew he'd ruined it. Casual wasn't really his forte.

Rachel turned around and stared at him. "Why?"

"Oh, you know, just curious," Chandler explained, awkwardly leaning against the counter.

"Remember that guy that always flirted with her at the diner? She said she was going to give in and go out with him. I don't really understand why she changed her mind, but he's super rich, so it's fine."

"Monica's on a date?" Chandler asked. Could his timing really be that terrible?

"Yeah, so? He's rich," Rachel repeated.

"Hey, I'm not poor," he defended himself, mentally slapping himself in the face because she could probably figure it out now.

Again, Rachel just stared at him for a few moments before she finally spoke. "Explain yourself right now. Because it seems to me like you're jealous of Pete. And there's only one reason you would be jealous of him."

Chandler sighed, realizing he would have to spill. "Remember when I told you Janice told me she was in love with me?" He waited for Rachel to nod before he continued. "Well, I kind of lied about that. It was Monica. She was really drunk, and it just kinda came out. Joey and I didn't tell her because, you know, I didn't think I liked her, but now I think that...I think I do," he finished.

"Wait, hold on. You and Monica? How did I not know about this? She didn't tell me! Does she know you like her?" Rachel was undoubtedly shocked.

"No, she doesn't know," Chandler answered, avoiding all of the other questions. "I mean, the last time I talked to her was when she came into my room because Joey told her what she said, but we had a fight and I think she's still mad at me."

"Well, go talk to her! She'll forgive you for whatever you did wrong," Rachel told him excitedly, although he could tell by her expression that the initial surprise hadn't left yet.

"Wait, so you think I should just go crash her date?" Chandler clarified. He wasn't too sure this was the best idea.

"Come on, do you really think she'd be that upset if you ruined her date with _Pete_? She has told us countless times that she doesn't really feel anything for him. And from what you've told me, it seems like she's probably only doing this because she'd mad at you right now," Rachel explained.

"Okay, so where did they go?" Chandler asked.

Rachel gave him an apologetic half smile. "Uh, I think they went to a pizza place, but I don't know which one."

"What? Then why were you encouraging me to do this? Rachel!" Chandler freaked out.

"I'm sorry! But hey, how romantic would it be if you went to every pizzeria in Manhattan?" Rachel suggested.

This time it was Chandler's turn to stare at Rachel. "Wow, Rachel. What a great idea!" he exclaimed sarcastically. He was already stressing out, and she really wasn't helping. Monica could be falling in love with Pete at this very moment. Maybe Pete had somehow won her over, and they were going to get married and have twenty kids, and Chandler would be left all alone.

"Sorry!" she apologized. "But she can't be that long, right? Just wait here and surprise her when she gets home."

* * *

Monica opened the door to the apartment as quietly as she could. It was already about six am, but Pete had taken her to Rome for pizza, much to her surprise. As she made her way to her bedroom, she heard someone shift on the couch. She turned around to see Chandler asleep on her couch. Monica was curious why he was here, but she also didn't want to speak to him, so she turned around.

"Mon?"

Reluctantly, Monica turned around to face Chandler. He looked like he'd barely slept.

"Hi Chandler. Sorry I'm back so late, but Pete took me to Rome for pizza! I think I might really like him," Monica gushed. She figured it would be easier to act like everything was fine than to address what had happened. Truth be told, she still didn't feel anything for Pete, and she still loved Chandler.

"Oh, good. Mon, there's, uh, there's something I really want to tell you," Chandler told her hesitantly.

Monica wanted to know what he had to say more than anything, but her pride got the best of her. "Yeah, can it wait? I'm really exhausted from spending so long on the jet."

"Yeah, sure. Of course," Chandler agreed.

Monica walked into her room and shut the door, hating herself for not listening to what he had to say and not asking why he was on her couch in the first place. But he broke her heart, so she tried to push those apologetic thoughts away and focus on sleeping.


End file.
